This invention relates to a laminated web for marking characters, symbols and the like to an article surface and deals more particularly with a web usable in such a process whereby markings are made on an article surface in an electrolytic etching process.
In the past, it has been known that etching on a metal surface can be done through an electrolytic process using a hand-prepared stencil on which the desired shape or symbol to be transferred is created. In such known processes, creating the character or symbol to be transferred was accomplished either by hand scribing it or using a regular impact type typewriter to imprint on the stencil a given character or symbol. Among the several drawbacks associated with using such previously known etching techniques was that varying style and font size could not be easily achieved except by making time consuming changes to the equipment being used, such as for example, changing the impacting head of the typing machine. The ability to create characters or symbols that are custom sized and stylized to the article to be etched is important because not all articles are alike sizewise or even in terms of style. Often it is found that a character size offered in a standard typewriter is larger than the surface onto which it is to be applied. This presents a need for a system whereby font sizes and shapes can be readily varied in accordance with the size of the surface presented on the article on which the etching occurs. Also, it has been found that where a conventional typewriter is used to create characters on a stencil patch, the impacting of the typewriter head or hammer onto the stencil tended to produce blurred characters that do not have the best quality line definition. Moreover, it is often desirable when cataloging multiple articles, such as with tools in a machine shop, to be able to streamline this procedure using computer automation, whereby a program determines a suitable font size for the articles to be marked further decreasing the time involved in such a process.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a laminated web suitable for use in an automated scribing machine wherein the machine scribes on a layer of the web comprised of a stencil sheet which can ultimately be used in an electrochemical etching process to etch characters, symbols or the like on a surface to be marked.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a web of laminated material and method of using the same whereby the process of creating a graphic inscribed on the stencil sheet of a web of the aforementioned type is readily accomplished by marking the stencil sheet with the tool of an automated sign generator in accordance with instructions issued by its computer.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive software based system for creating graphics in a web for etching them onto surfaces of articles which may vary in size and in shape.
Other objects and advantages will become obvious form the foregoing specification and the appended claims.